A joint venture between the government and the private sector to create a million youth internships has become a casualty of the surprise cabinet reshuffle in March. Colin Coleman, joint chair of the CEO Initiative’s unemployment workstream, said the launch, initially scheduled for July, was postponed to early 2018 as CEOs had to "remandate the team on the way forward" after former finance minister Pravin Gordhan was sacked. Gordhan was spearheading a joint business and government grouping tasked with exploring ways to avert ratings downgrades and boost economic growth. The grouping was also tasked with launching a R1.5bn fund to support small and medium enterprises. Coleman said work on the fund was also delayed. A pilot phase involving large companies as early adopters could be implemented in September. Coleman said negotiations with the government about incentives for businesses were under way. Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa is at the helm of the initiative to reduce youth unem...
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